November 28, 2008
- Spicy chicken casserole with peppers and chickpeas
During these dark and cold winter days nothing warms you up like a home made chicken casserole. Especially if the casserole is beautifully enriched by fresh vegetables, aromatic herbs and hot spices!
The vibrant colours of the dish washes away the grey shades of the shortening daytime and brings instant, fulfilling warmth. The recipe for my [...]
October 14, 2008
- Cinnamon and pear cake - a wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free delight
After a summertime that has come and gone without the delivery of its promised sunny days, autumn is here!
I love this season because of the spectacular harvest bounty that it brings, as well as the wonderful colours that Mother Nature displays from her very own pret-a-porter wardrobe.
On trees she spreads an amazingly rich combination of [...]
September 14, 2008
- Superfood salad with black rice, butternut squash, sweet potato, cranberries, goji berries, sunflower and pumpkin seeds
A few months ago there I was, running an Italian food business, when all of a sudden I found myself with a new personal dietary requirement to eat no wheat, no gluten, no dairy, no meat, no yeast and no sugar for three months!
I thought I was never going to be able to survive, but [...]
August 1, 2008
- Puy lentil salad with roasted butternut squash, soya beans, goat’s cheese and caramelised red onions
What a wonderful, deliciously flavoursome salad! It seems that our customers can never get enough of it.
Is this due, at least in part, to it’s wonderful versatility?My aim is to constantly improve and fine-tune the flavours of the food that I cook. And what I am always looking for are the most breathtaking combinations.
That desire has helped me to [...]
April 28, 2008
- Vanilla and yoghurt panna cotta with Marsala wine and blueberry sauce
If you are asking who took a spoonful from this delicious dessert, well, look no further - it was me!
By simply looking at this picture you can understand how fantastically tempting this dessert is.
Flawless, smooth, vanilla-scented cream followed by a vibrant fuschia wine sauce enriched by deep purple fruity berry bites.Hmmm! Heaven!
In my defence, [...]
March 25, 2008
- Red quinoa and poached chicken salad with roasted hazelnut, peas, watercress and lemon oil dressing
Shall we go shopping? Isn’t this just a wonderful world…
Before we go any further, I am not suggesting shoes or handbags. I know all too well that no woman can resist the spell of beautifully-designed stiletto heels or the charm of a must-have leather bag.
After 12 years in the luxury market, 32 designer handbags and [...]
March 2, 2008
- Mamma is the word - an apple cake for Mother’s Day!
Mamma is the word!
This post is dedicated to all Mums, and my mum was the perfect host for it. As you can see from the pictures she is a 69 year old larger than life character.
She is utterly inspiring for her uncomplicated way, honest and sharp eye for the things of life!She was the one [...]
February 19, 2008
- Chilli and cinnamon chocolate brownie
It doesn’t happen often that inspiration for a new flavour of brownie comes from a novel.
In ‘The Lollipop Shoes‘ by Joanne Harris, the heroine Vianne Rocher prepares her favourite chocolate drink by adding a mesmerizing combination of chilli, nutmeg and cinnamon.Instinctively I knew that this sensual new mixture was going to work. The following [...]
February 4, 2008
- Carrot cake with vanilla-scented icing
When I first came to England I was completely smitten by your carrot cake.
In Bologna where I grew up, I had never seen a cake made with a vegetable(!) nor one with such a peculiar texture - so enriched with walnuts and such a beautifully sweet icing.
Hmm!For this reason I used to order carrot cake [...]
January 6, 2008
- Homemade millefiori honey and carrot soup
Happy New Year!
How full of hopes, dreams and lists of good things these three little words are.
We only have the chance to say them once a year so let’s make the most of them!To get things off to a great start I am sure many of you have on your list to get [...]
August 24, 2007
- Gourmet mixed rice salad with peppers, feta cheese and fresh herbs
Summer salad days!
Here is another of our very popular salads. The strong flavour of the peppers works well with the mixed rice base.Freshness is added by the chopped herbs including parsley, coriander, mint and chive, while the crumbled feta cheese seals the salad with its unique all-Mediterranean flavour.
We love to prepare this salad because while [...]
August 7, 2007
- Millet salad with goats cheese, avocado, sour cherry, oven-roasted plum tomato and spicy aubergine jam
Salads are not only one of my favourite dishes, but they are becoming an increasingly popular choice with our customers.
Salads present the perfect opportunity to overcome an increasingly common preference for food that is gluten, wheat and/or dairy-free.
This millet salad with goat’s cheese, avocado, sour cherry, oven-roasted plum tomato and spicy aubergine jam is wheat [...]
July 24, 2007
- Organic natural yoghurt with fruits of the forest and homemade honey granola
Breakfast tends to be the most rushed and probably most neglected meal of the day. We all know how bad this is for our health but we still struggle to make time for it and most of us tend to skip it completely.
You could have counted me in the ’skipping’ bunch just [...]
May 25, 2007
- Heavenly pecan brownie with Italian vanilla bean ice-cream
One of my favourite comfort foods since coming to England is the classic chocolate brownie. Compared to some of Italy’s finer patisserie, the brownie may not be the prettiest, but its taste is surely to die for! From the day I first tasted one I was haunted by the desire to find [...]
February 25, 2007
- Vanilla, raspberry and acacia honey oat slice
Sunday morning for us is all about taking things slightly slower and going back to our favourite spot for breakfast… our very own deli!
Sunday morning is also about reading the food magazines from all over the world. Italian, Australian, American and of course British. I go through their pages and highlight what I think I [...]
February 22, 2007
- Roasted pepper, tomato and smoked sweet paprika soup with parmesan pao de queijo bread
Rain, rain and more rain! Only food with a vibrant colour and a taste of a warm, far-away land can help me now! My passion for Spanish smoked paprika and roasted peppers could only result in this captivating soup!
Ingredients:
4 red peppers
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 red onion
2 cloves of garlic
half a litre of vegetable [...]
February 7, 2007
- Savoury cupcake with ricotta, grilled artichokes, sundried tomato and saffron
Although I love savoury tarts, recently I wanted to create something that was a little different in appearance. As I love baking cupcakes I thought why not make a savoury cupcake?
We have a lot of customers asking for wheat-free food that looks great too. In my experience ‘healthier’ food is not always the [...]
